Little Greene paint - have I chosen the wrong colour?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hello Houzzers

I've bought a
house with a north facing living room and have decided to go dark grey for the
walls - after reading online various articles suggesting embracing the
northness [so to speak!]. I've gone for [and purchased] Little Greene
"Scree" as I love the colour but I'm now wondering whether I've made
the right choice as I've discovered it's a blue undertone [I'm not very good at
working out the undertones of colours to be honest] and that's going to be
cool, whereas I wanted to warm the room. It's not a dark room and gets
plenty of light but it's northern light so perhaps the Scree will make it feel
colder than it already does - in it's currently painted barley white - yuk.
I've now looked at LG's warm end of the grey chart and think that
"Knightsbridge" may have been a better choice although it looks
like a mink colour to me rather than grey. My accessories –
cushions/candles/ceramics will be bright yellow and I have some bright artwork which
will pop on a dark grey wall but if it’s going to be cold looking then I’ll be
back to square one!

I’ve attached
2 pics taken in the living room today at lunchtime – in natural light with no
flash and it’s a cloudy day – one taken from the sofa towards the window and
one with the window behind me.

Any firm
advice on this would be great - thanks.
I’m hoping that avoiding the
blue/green undertones only refers to the lighter shades of grey, so that I
can happily go ahead and use the Scree :)

Featured Answer

PRO

User

7 years ago

You have a lovely room ! I try to advise all my customers of the same thing. Looking at paint colours and picking them is a tricky thing. When you already have items in the room of a particular colour like your sofa or curtains, the paint needs to be colour matched for perfection, especially if you're going for a bold colour. I don't think the room can take being painted all dark. However, if you were to paint the wall that the sofa is on in the dark grey, with the artwork above it, i think it would look amazing. I don't personally think 'Scree' is the colour to go for, as it will clash with the curtains and the sofa. You are better off taking a sofa cushion to the paint shop and having it colour matched. Valspar at B&Q is the most accurate and Dulux offer the same service, but there is nearly always a slight discrepancy in the colour ( Sorry Dulux, better paint, not great colour matching! ). I've done you an example below. First is your sofa and second curtains against 'Scree', the last is the sofa cushion colour matched and only put on a feature wall behind the sofa, the rest of the room should remain light and airy.

As you see in the last example your sofa is quite a blue / grey and matches the colour matched paint for an effortless effect !

Good luck !

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Comments (21)

debonweb_100
Original Author
7 years ago
Wow - you're right about the Scree! Whilst it is a lovely colour, it looks dreadful against the sofa and curtains and I'll find somewhere else to use it now. Thanks ever so much for that ... and for taking the time to do the mock-ups. The final one does look rather fab I must say so I'll take your advice re colour matching using a cushion and consider leaving the rest of the room light and airy. That will, of course, involve me finding another colour for the other walls! Aaargh ..... lol.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it.
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PRO
ANIstudio
7 years ago
The colour choice would depend on the location of the room in your house. If you like to empower the space and your energy to your space, you could use a feng shui consultant. :)
debonweb_100
Original Author
7 years ago
That made me smile ANIstudio - after having recently returned from living in Hong Kong for 20+ years I'm all feng shui'd out I'm afraid!
PRO
ANIstudio
7 years ago
Oh I see! In that case I recommend plain white or off white everywhere to make the whole house as modern as possible and juxtapose the white with coloured products and furniture! Good luck!
debonweb_100 thanked ANIstudio
PRO
User
7 years ago
Can't wait to see the finished pics !!
debonweb_100 thanked User
User
7 years ago
I don't much go with colour trends for walls, trends change too quickly and you're left with the 'out of date' feeling. I wouldn't find grey comforting on a north facing room at all, I would go for something which is probably considered boring by now, it has been around for a while but I would think Buttermilk or similar, the lemony tones would be better than barley white and it would be light, and the furniture and curtains would tone in with it. Use accessories to brighten the rest.
debonweb_100 thanked User
shelleyuk
7 years ago
There is no substitute for painting large lightweight boards in a range of different greys and pinning them to each wall for a couple of days to see how the light affects the colour. "Grey" can range from blue to purple to green. You can't tell what will work until you have it close to your furniture.

I have Fired Earth Malm in our snug and it works perfectly even though it's a north facing room. But I'm going for cosy and "den like" in that room rather than light and airy. Our sofas are also light grey which looks good against the darker grey. I think with a dark grey sofa and dark grey curtains and dark grey walls you might find it a bit...dark.

We are currently painting the outside of our house in grey and have a patchwork of testers. All look grey in the tin and on the paint card. On the walls side by side you would be amazed at the difference.
debonweb_100 thanked shelleyuk
Ludo Gallagher
7 years ago
I don't like the scree but the bluer one swallows up your sofa. We also had a dark room in our old house and embraced it. Made it into a little jewel box, all dark with light pops of colour and mirrors. It sounds like you are quite brave. If I were you I would choose something akin to Abigail Aherns Bowery blue which is very warm but dark enough to allow your sofa to stand out also:

http://abigailahern.com/collections/paint
debonweb_100 thanked Ludo Gallagher
debonweb_100
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks amw, Shelley and Ludo for your input. I'm not actually going for grey paint because it's a trend amw, it's because I love it, always have done - and now finally have a place of my own to be able to use it :) I just didn't realise that it would be difficult to find the right one! It's turning out to be one of the harder colours to get right. Anyway I've now had a different one mixed up after taking a cushion to a paint shop and currently have that and the scree on painted boards in the room just so I can see the the difference - as you say Shelley it does change throughout the day. I think I'm after what Ludo had ... all dark walls with pops of colour and interest with the art, accessories and huge mirror that I own. I can always change it if it turns out to be a terrible mistake but I've always wanted to try something like this. As my north facing room is very light too I'm going for it ....... so ...... fingers crossed ;)

PS - not starting it until after next week anyway as new kitchen being fitted next Thur/Fri and am waiting until that's been done. I'll probably have about "50 shades of grey" painted boards up by then!
User
7 years ago
Then go for it, but I would go for pale rather than dark, you don't want it looking like a crypt LOL I like light grey with a colour undertone and did wonder of using it on my lounge but it's south and sunny, instead I settled for Gardenia which turns out to be Magnolia in Dulux. I think I might tire of dark grey very quickly.
debonweb_100 thanked User
shelleyuk
7 years ago
Also keep in mind the difference that reflection makes. Malm in the pot and on samples looks quite light. On all four walls it looks dark and cosy.
debonweb_100 thanked shelleyuk
User
7 years ago
I painted a dining room apple green and what I thought was a hint of green turned out quite strong, testing it on the wall might even be different to a board.
Gerry Rust
7 years ago
If deep grey really appeals to you then go for it! The beauty of paint is that you can always change your mind, it may be a bit time consuming but it's relatively inexpensive (compared to picking the wrong sofa or kitchen cabinets :0) I have a Pinterest board called 'The dark side' with hundreds of images of interiors that I find incredibly attractive (think Abigail Ahern) but some people would probably think were blacker than the inside of a camel and avoid like the plague :D I currently live in a small Georgian terrace with low ceilings and little natural light so most of them aren't an option (unless you really don't mind bumping into things) but I have painted two walls in my bedroom (which is much larger/higher for some reason) in a deep steel grey and I love it, I only wish I hadn't lost courage and painted the other two in a pale white/grey. Good luck and be sure to post some pictures!
debonweb_100 thanked Gerry Rust
Caroline Leah
7 years ago
We have a similar north facing (bed) room and have used farrow and balls pavilion grey - it is a soft matt warm grey that is very mellow on the harsh north light. Good luck!
debonweb_100 thanked Caroline Leah
debonweb_100
Original Author
7 years ago
Cheer c_leah ... that pavilion grey looks exactly like the colour I originally had in mind but then I thought no .... be bold - go darker! W@aaaa.

Having looked at it on Google images it looks dark in some and light in others. I'm currently loving it however! As you've confirmed that it's soft and warm, just what I had in mind - especially in a northern light - I'm leaning towards that now.

When oh when did I become so indecisive ? I can't decide whether it was recently or years ago ;)
PRO
Pat Oliver Interior Design
7 years ago
You've stated that the room faces north but you don't mention when this room is in use. Is it predominantly an evening room, where artificial light is in use or a room that is used throughout the day. Colour changes throughout the day and under artificial light, so your choice of colour should be made under the correct conditions.

If you use the room throughout the day, grey or blue walls will make the room dull and de-energizing. A warm light yellow would warm the room and act as a perfect foil for your blue curtains and sofa. If you prefer a zingy colour, use natural white for 3 walls and a mid aqua behind the sofa.
debonweb_100 thanked Pat Oliver Interior Design
debonweb_100
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you Pat. I use the room all the time - day and night :)
PRO
Nicola Holden Designs
7 years ago
My office is north facing, and I have just painted all the bookshelves Grey Teal, which is one shade lighter than Scree. I love it, and I don't think it looks cold. I have a warm oak floor with yellow undertones, and warm lighting, and the Grey Teal works very well with it. I have used Dolphin on a client's project (one down from Knightsbridge), and that would probably work well too. My best advice would be to paint a largish patch on several of your walls and see how you feel about it for a day or two. Maybe even get a tester pot of the Knightsbridge and paint that on too and see which one you prefer. In my opinion it all comes down to personal choice!
debonweb_100 thanked Nicola Holden Designs
debonweb_100
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks Gerry and Nicola ... really appreciate your comments. I agree
that it's all personal choice in the end and also that it is just paint
and can always be changed if necessary.

Sorry Gerry for only
just responding ... I completely missed seeing your post yesterday. I
checked out your " The dark side" pin board and absolutely adore some of
those rooms. I'm sticking with my original plan and going for it as
soon as I can get started.

Will post pics once all done. Cheers again :)
Gerry Rust
7 years ago
No need to apologise, some people have other things to do with their Sunday! Glad you enjoyed going over to 'the dark side' ;) I look forward to seeing the finished room, I'm sure it will look amazing :))
debonweb_100 thanked Gerry Rust

Little Greene paint - have I chosen the wrong colour?

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